TOM Mitchell has left his post at AFC Bournemouth following the expiry of his contract last month.

Mitchell had spent the past three-and-a-half years as manager of youth football operations at Vitality Stadium.

He was appointed to the club’s board of directors – aged 23 – in August 2011 having previously fulfilled various office-based roles.

Mitchell then became director of football and had input in the appointment of Lee Bradbury as manager before working alongside Paul Groves and Shaun Brooks.

He remained on the board after his father Eddie Mitchell had stepped down as chairman and sold the family shareholding in the club to Maxim Demin in September 2013.

Tom Mitchell was handed a long-term contract prior to Eddie Mitchell’s departure and had been earmarked by his father to take the reins at the club.

However, following a backroom reshuffle in January 2014 – which saw Groves and Brooks leave their roles as youth team manager and head of youth – Tom Mitchell’s position of director of football was scrapped.

He remained a director of the company but resigned in September 2014.

Once on the books at Dorchester, Gosport and Wimborne, Tom Mitchell trained regularly with the Cherries squad after his father had taken control of the club in June 2009.